When The Challenge: USA, Episode 8 arrives, one of the top competitors in the game will be reflecting upon the loss of a good friend.
Spoilers arrived for the CBS spinoff’s upcoming episode in a video clip shared on @thechallenge Instagram, a day ahead of the new installment.
The one-minute clip shows all of the show’s cast asleep in their bunk beds during the early morning hours, except for one Survivor star.
Ben Driebergen says he can’t sleep because it’s the anniversary of the passing of his good friend from the Marine Corps, Blake.
The clip shows several photos of Ben’s friend as he says he was a “good guy” and becomes emotional over remembering him.
“You just relive those moments. Even if you’re in the middle of a Challenge,” Ben said during his confessional, agreeing when production asked if it was “a lot of weight” on his shoulders.
Ben Driebergen praises Survivor ally for being there
In the clip above, Ben mentions it’s good to have his Survivor castmate and ally, Sarah Lacina, around as someone he can talk to about his friend’s passing.
“I’ve talked about this with Sarah, and it’s just nice having a solid person, someone who I can trust and someone who I have support from,” Ben said in his confessional.
From the spinoff show’s early episode, footage presented a strong alliance featuring the various Survivor stars, featuring Tyson Apostol, Sarah Lacina, Ben Driebergen, and others.
However, things got shaken up thanks to The Algorithm assigning everyone a new random teammate at the start of each episode. In addition, Tyson made a shocking move when he sent Sarah into elimination along with her teammate Leo Temory.
Sarah and Leo won that elimination, which led to some tense moments after their victory, and inside The Challenge compound afterward. There were even comments from several castmates during an exit interview that a security guard slept in the house to make sure the cast was safe that evening.
Survivor star still looking to qualify for final
Heading into Episode 8 of The Challenge: USA, Ben is still amongst competitors on the show trying to become eligible to run TJ Lavin’s final.
During the spinoff’s premiere episode, TJ revealed that each competitor would begin the game with $1,000 in their “personal bank account.” However, TJ said they’d need $5,000 to qualify for his final.
He informed cast members the only way to add money was by winning a daily challenge or an elimination. Competitors win $5,000 for the daily challenge wins. In elimination, the winning team receives all of the losing team’s bank account money from the game.
Among the competitors that have qualified so far are Tyson Apostol, Justin Ndiba, Angela Rummans, Alyssa Lopez, Cashay Proudfoot, David Alexander, and Desi Williams. Meanwhile, Ben is still sitting at just $1,000 in his account.
The above preview clip could foreshadow Ben winning in Episode 8’s daily event or getting sent into the latest elimination. There’s also the possibility that he’ll volunteer himself as a tribute to his late friend. Viewers will find out when the new episode debuts on Wednesday, August 24.
The Challenge: USA airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on CBS.